1946 College Football Final Rankings

Prior to running our analysis of the 1946 season, the Georgia Bulldogs were the top candidate for our "Always a Bridesmaid" award, for the strongest program that had never won a national championship in the Baggaley NCAA Football Ranking System. However, the results of the 1946 season analysis change that, as we are indeed naming the Georgia Bulldogs national champions for 1946. This bucks the trend of the major polls, which named Notre Dame national champions followed by the United States Military Academy ranked #2 - both of these teams had gone undefeated except for a November 9th meeting played in Yankee Stadium, in which they played to a 0-0 tie. The Bulldogs were ranked third.

Still, it is amazing to realize that the SEC power has not garnered the award for having the best season in our analysis since 1946. This means that since (and including) 1946, even though they finished 3rd in 1982 and 5th on four different occasions, the Bulldogs have finished #1 in our rankings the same number of times as the Kentucky Wildcats,  the BYU Cougars, the Utah Utes, the San Diego State Aztecs, the New Mexico State Aggies, the Arkansas State Red Wolves and the Dartmouth Big Green. Congratulations Bulldogs!

1. Georgia Bulldogs (11-0) - 1.1
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0-1) - 2.0
3. Army Black Knights (9-0-1) - 3.1
4. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (11-0) - 4.2
5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2) - 4.9
6. UCLA Bruins (10-1) - 6.8
7. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-2-1) - 7.5
8. Rice Owls (9-2) - 8.6
9. Illinois Fighting Illini (8-2) - 9.3
10. Michigan Wolverines (6-2-1) - 11.4
(tie) Tennessee Volunteers (9-2) - 11.4
12. LSU Tigers (9-1-1) - 12.1
13. William & Mary Tribe (8-2) - 12.6
14. Yale Bulldogs (7-1-1) - 12.7
15. Texas Longhorns (8-2) - 15.0
16. Oklahoma Sooners (8-3) - 15.9
(tie) Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-1) - 15.9
18. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-2) - 18.8
19. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-3) - 19.0
20. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-4) - 19.8
21. Pennsylvania Relays (6-2) - 21.5
22. Duke Blue Devils (4-5) - 23.2
23. Kentucky Wildcats (7-3) - 23.6
24. Oregon State Beavers (7-1-1) - 24.5
25. NC State Wolfpack (8-3) - 24.6
26. Miami Hurricanes (8-2) - 25.5
27. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-2) - 26.6
28. Columbia Lions (6-3) - 27.9
29. Boston College Eagles (6-3) - 29.0
30. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-4) - 31.6
31. USC Trojans (6-4) - 32.6
32. Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-3) - 33.3
33. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-4) - 33.7
34. Villanova Wildcats (6-4) - 33.8
35. Harvard Crimson (7-2) - 34.2
36. Arkansas Razorbacks (6-3-2) - 36.0
37. Nevada Wolf Pack (7-2) - 36.4
38. Cornell Big Red (5-3-1) - 36.6
39. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2) - 38.0
40. Stanford Cardinal (6-3-1) - 39.6
41. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-3-2) - 39.9
42. Washington Huskies (5-4) - 42.8
43. Utah State Aggies (7-2-1) - 43.9
44. Utah Utes (8-3) - 45.9
45. St. Mary's Gaels (6-3) - 46.3
46. Detroit Mercy Titans (6-4) - 46.8
(tie) Indiana Hoosiers (6-3) - 46.8
48. Northwestern Wildcats (4-4-1) - 48.2
49. Kansas Jayhawks (7-2-1) - 49.0
50. Richmond Spiders (6-2-3) - 49.5
51. Tulane Green Wave (3-7) - 51.4
52. SMU Mustangs (4-5-1) - 51.5
53. Colgate Raiders (4-4) - 53.4
54. Navy Midshipmen (1-8) - 55.5
55. Virginia Cavaliers (4-4-1) - 56.1
56. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3) - 56.6
57. Texas A&M Aggies (4-6) - 57.3
58. Holy Cross Crusaders (5-4) - 58.2
59. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-4) - 58.8
60. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-4-3) - 59.6
61. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-7-1) - 60.4
62. Princeton Tigers (3-5) - 61.2
63. Wisconsin Badgers (4-5) - 61.7
64. Michigan State Spartans (5-5) - 64.1
65. Georgetown Hoyas (5-3) - 64.2
66. Missouri Tigers (5-4-1) - 66.8
67. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-5-1) - 66.9
68. TCU Horned Frogs (2-7-1) - 68.4
69. George Washington Colonials (4-3) - 69.2
70. Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs (5-5) - 70.8
71. VMI Keydets (4-5-1) - 71.1
72. Clemson Tigers (4-5) - 71.7
73. Arizona Wildcats (4-4-2) - 73.8
74. Colorado Buffaloes (5-4-1) - 74.0
75. Denver Pioneers (5-5-1) - 74.1
76. Oregon Ducks (4-4-1) - 74.2
77. Syracuse Orange (4-5) - 75.2
78. San Francisco Dons (3-6) - 75.9
79. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-5) - 77.7
80. Auburn Tigers (4-6) - 80.1
81. Dartmouth Big Green (3-6) - 82.5
82. Temple Owls (2-4-2) - 82.8
83. Maryland Terrapins (3-6) - 83.5
84. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-6) - 84.5
85. West Virginia Mountaineers (5-5) - 84.8
86. California Golden Bears (2-7) - 85.5
87. Montana Grizzlies (4-4) - 86.1
88. New York University Violets (5-3) - 87.8
89. Purdue Boilermakers (2-6-1) - 89.9
90. Montana State Bobcats (5-3-2) - 90.2
91. Washington State Cougars (1-6-1) - 91.2
92. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-2-2) - 92.0
93. Washington & Lee Generals (2-6) - 93.2
94. Brown Bears (3-5-1) - 93.6
95. New Mexico Lobos (5-5-2) - 95.7
96. BYU Cougars (5-4-1) - 96.9
97. Santa Clara Broncos (2-5-1) - 97.2
98. Ole Miss Rebels (2-7) - 97.5
99. New Mexico State Aggies (5-5) - 98.5
100. Davidson Wildcats (4-5) - 99.0
101. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (5-5) - 99.5
102. Furman Paladins (2-8) - 101.5
103. UTEP Miners (3-6) - 101.6
104. Citadel Bulldogs (3-5) - 102.7
105. St. Louis Billikens (4-6) - 104.6
106. Colorado State Rams (2-7) - 106.9
107. Baylor Bears (1-8) - 107.0
108. Wichita State Shockers (5-5) - 107.5
109. Bucknell Bison (3-6) - 108.6
110. Iowa State Cyclones (2-6-1) - 111.0
111. Fordham Rams (0-7) - 111.9
112. Florida Gators (0-9) - 112.0
113. Merchant Marine Mariners (4-7) - 112.8
114. Arizona State Sun Devils (2-7-2) - 115.1
115. Drake Bulldogs (2-6-1) - 116.0
(tie) Wyoming Cowboys (1-8-1) - 116.0
117. Lafayette Leopards (2-7) - 118.6
118. Idaho Vandals (1-8) - 119.1
119. Kansas State Wildcats (0-9) - 119.4
120. Portland Pilots (2-7-1) - 120.9

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.